Tips for Losing A Small Amount of Weight?
zilea
Posts: 31 Member
I've heard and read many times that it can be more difficult to drop weight if you're only 5-20 lbs or so away from your goal weight. I am 15 pounds away from goal weight. Has anyone here successfully lost a relatively small amount and have advice? Or does anyone know of tips that might work for this scenario?
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Replies
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im trying to lose just 10 pounds.. mainly lose inches.. I think just drink a ton of water and do alot of cardio and you will lose
its pretty simple 0 -
Aim to lose no more than a half pound a week.
Eat most of your exercise calories if you're using MFP's calculations.
Get more protein than MFP suggests... at very least, consider it a minimum to pass instead of a maximum to stay under.
Get regular exercise. Strength training works wonders. I love cardio, but weight lifting is what shaped my body.
Track your progress through measurements, how clothes fit, and progress photos, not just the scale.
Be patient.0 -
Bump to read later. I'm not looking to lose more than 10 but I'd love some tips 0
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bump0
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I am stuck in the same boat. I have about 10 to lose. My goal is to just stick with it!0
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bump0
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Bump for later...Glad this was posted i was wondering the same 0
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I am in the same boat. I am currently eating closer to my TDEE and doing more weight training. Hopefully it will help.0
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bump.
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i can't get this last 5 lbs off me no matter how hard i try.. if i come close to it i bounce around after i did lose more then that but it's the last 5 that i can't get off...0
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I have to carefully watch my calories to stay just below maintence, losing at a 10% cut from TDEE, and weight lifting. Lots of cardio did nothing for me but make me frustrated at the lack of progress when I got to within 5-10 pounds of goal. I do a little cardio, like 2 days a week vs 5-6 days a week before. It's slow going but is is happening.0
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a nutritionist helped me with this one - tweak something very small and it can make a big difference. Like instead of a banana with your breakfast, have an orange. Or, forego sugar in your am coffee. It works! It does not make sense calorically I know, but for some reason, when you change one small thing, it can really throw your metabolism for a loop. I am back up and trying to lose those 5 lbs (again)! ugh!0
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Yesterday I ate potatoes, bread, and rice....big mistake. Carbs are not my friend.0
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Calorie cycling works. Eat at a deficit for 3 days, then bring up your calories to maintenance level every 4th day. You'll be telling your body you're not starving so you'll lose that last stubborn bit of fat. Strength train at least 3 times a week. Build those muscles so your metabolism with rev up. Eat lower carbs on your low days and bring up the carbs on your high day. Try it for a couple of weeks and see if it works for you.0
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I can totally relate to this. Before starting MFP. I had about 5-7 lbs to lose. I've already lost 5 of those lbs and I'm 2 pounds away from my goal weight. For a long time my weight loss was stalled. What finally worked for me is workouts regularly (including resistance training) and not eating out. Its hard to track calories when you eat out because even the info found online for most restaurants are underestimated in my opinion. The only way you can track your calories accurately is to make all your meals at home0
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I definitely have to pay much closer attention to macronutrient ratios to maintain a leaner physique. The whole concept of 'eating whatever you want in moderation' doesn't work for me at this body fat percentage... I can have things here and there, but you'd never see me replacing other meals with pizza or ice cream and 'making things fit' into my calories for the day. I do, but I see it immediately - I bloat up, I have digestion issues, I instantly crave more foods like that.
I'm not saying I never eat those 'unhealthy' foods, I certainly do, but if I'm trying to lean out a bit rather than just maintain they have to go.
I also have to do a moderate amount of cardio at a minimum of 70% of my MHR, I lift weights 4 times a week with INTENSITY (and heavy weights at that), I get 8-10 hours of sleep a night, don't drink any alcohol, and I don't cut a huge amount of calories and try to lose too fast; that just results in muscle losses
... it's a lot of attention to detail to get that detail in my body.
Again, thats not ALL the time; when I'm maintaining I am more loose with it all, but when trying to get off a few pounds before an event it's all got to be 100% dialed in.0 -
Thanks so much for all of the advice and general camaraderie, guys.0
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find tdee and go with a small deficit.0
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a nutritionist helped me with this one - tweak something very small and it can make a big difference. Like instead of a banana with your breakfast, have an orange. Or, forego sugar in your am coffee. It works! It does not make sense calorically I know, but for some reason, when you change one small thing, it can really throw your metabolism for a loop. I am back up and trying to lose those 5 lbs (again)! ugh!
That's interesting. I wonder if it's the same way we have to keep changing our exercise routine. Did she say why this is?0 -
Good luck :-) Hoping to get some tips myself0
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Small deficit from TDEE.
It really isn't more difficult, or different from someone needing to lose a lot...the problem is, the tolerances are much tighter. Miss your target by a little and you'll see *no* progress (as opposed to seeing slightly less progress).
Track accurately, be patient, and adjust as necessary.0 -
Aim to lose no more than a half pound a week.
Eat most of your exercise calories if you're using MFP's calculations.
Get more protein than MFP suggests... at very least, consider it a minimum to pass instead of a maximum to stay under.
Get regular exercise. Strength training works wonders. I love cardio, but weight lifting is what shaped my body.
Track your progress through measurements, how clothes fit, and progress photos, not just the scale.
Be patient.
^^pretty much sums it up.0 -
I just did it. I have been in chronic pain since October. I have been wanting to lose the last ten pounds for years. In October I got serious: if I'm going to be miserable I might as well lose my ten pounds while I'm at it instead of sitting on the couch eating (my Favourite) potato chips. So all I did was follow mfp'ers advice with a plan to lose only half to one pound per week. When I read about IIFYM and I realized that my year of logging really does reflect my mass i started to feel very confident. Calories in and calories out absolutely does reflect what I weigh. Once I had the confidence that I am in control I realized I can eat potato chips or anything else if I made room for it and IIFYM !!! I've also made some huge changes in my eating lately that has paused my weight loss (I don't eat as much protein as I used to ), but I have just one pound left to lose and I've been gaining and losing ( this really means I've been maintaining) since December. My only exercise has been running on average once a week. So for me it has been all about the food. I have lost muscle, I can see it in the mirror, this is because I haven't been lifting and I haven't even been writing or pouring coffee unassisted with my right hand for the last three months.
Follow the advice here regarding lifting and determining your TDEE. Although I think I look great and I'm proud of my weight loss, I have pictures of myself from about ten years ago when I used to lift and weighed what I weigh now and I did look and feel much better then.0 -
Thanks again for all of the advice, everyone. I've been adjusting my diet and exercise in various ways for the last 3 weeks that I've been on MFP and taking logging seriously. I have seen some change in my measurements, but no change in my pounds. How long did it take for some of you to begin to see progress?0
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Consistancy, patience and setting your goal to lose .5lbs/week. No more. Eat your calories, have good workouts. Use measuring tape as a base more than the scale. Don't weigh yourself more than once a week. Develop good habits that will take you through your whole life, not just while you are losing, so you don't ever have to do this again!0
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very helpful
same problem0 -
I'm working on the same thing. And I'm trying to follow the advice that's already been posted - consistency and patience! I'm started to use weights more and use the measuring tape more. I haven't seen a change in the scale for a couple weeks, but I feel a lot better in my clothes!0
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i can't get this last 5 lbs off me no matter how hard i try.. if i come close to it i bounce around after i did lose more then that but it's the last 5 that i can't get off...
I know exactly what you mean I'm down to my last 6 and have been trying to lose it for 4 months and nothing.....0 -
ya it's been that if not more, i think since oct i have been stuck. the same 3-4 lbs up and down...can't take it off an stay there to get just that much closer to my final goal...0
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Maybe it just takes more time for us, but i don't know how much longer i can wait, and I'm afraid that when j do lose it what will happen when i start eating at maintenance will I gain? I hope we can both start losing soon we made it this far might ad well keep going 0
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